Strengthening participation –
Local action moves the world!
Morning lecture 1
The 12th of July 2012
At the CPU
By Kirsten Paaby
«Yes, but what can we do and
how can we participate..? Any
good news?
The Ideas Bank
- rooted in the
Futures Studies
Tradition
Robert Jungk – world citizen and future researcher
«The Future has already started»
Social Innovations
Local sustainable practices
Give back democracy to the people:
The Futures Scenario Workshop
From Rio
– call for democratic
mobilisation
From
Johannesburg –
call for education
and life long learning
with a focus on:
COMPETANCE OF ACTION
The Ideas Bank Model: Best practices - new dialogues - futurepictures
Local sustainable
community development
Professional assistance to National programs such as:
•Local Agenda 21
•The Frontrunner Community program
•Livable Communities
Our contribution:
•Pedagogical presentations on sustainable community development
•Methods for dialogue and partnership
•Collecting and dissemination of best practices
«Sustainable development has been successfully
localised
No longer a distant, theoretical concept but on filled
with meaning and evoked in everyday realities»
Stefan Kuhn, ICLEI Director for Urban Governance
Local Action has moved the world!
Some key findings from the ICLEI-review:
«Compared to processes initiated by the public
sector…the civil society actors are usually
characterized by a higher degree of creativity
and willingness to explore new solitions..»
«Local sustainability processes are hubs of
social innovations.»
Samsø
Energy Academy
•
•
Students in all ages meets the people behind the work to be
selfsufficient with enery and creating a vital local community
The students learn what they themselves can do – instead of
threatening with the global warming
Democratic Ecology – the Halkær Ådal
Valley, Denmark
«The stork has returned…»
..and it takes twice as long to
shop at the Co-op»
The Future Scenario Workshop a
successfull method
Hyldespjældet Housing Cooperative - Denmark
- Worldrecord in action plans for sustainable development
- Social equality
- Energysavings, ecological consumption
The City District Sagene – innovative
and creative work in making dialogues
with the citizens – testemony of
participation
Young People
making the future
in Øvre Eiker
(Norway)
Global follow up in Fredrikstad
(Norway)
Twinning and exchange networks with towns in Guatemala since 1985
One of the doors to participation
 Education
From Rio
– call for democratic
mobilisation
From
Johannesburg –
call for education
and life long learning
with a focus on:
COMPETANCE OF ACTION
2005-2014
The UN Decade for Education for Sustainable
Development – ”learning to change our world”
The Decade promotes:
• Interdisciplinary and holistic
learning
• Values-based learning
• Critical thinking
• Multi-method approaches
• Participatory decision making
• Locally relevant information
New competance for action
The Target Groups:
• Pupils, students
• Society as a whole
• Life long learning
The Balancing Act
Nordic Campaign and pedagogic project
promoting the UN decade for Education
for sustainable development
The pedagogic platform of the Nordic
civic formation Grundtvigs concept of civic formation:
Formation of the individual – formation in
community
Embraces the formation as an:
• Individual
• Member of the society
• World citizen
«Lifeskills and a school for life»
Risør highschool in Norway –
Eco-lighthouse and youth entrepreneurship
Glocal action – Proud students opened first fair-trade shop downtown Risør (Foto: Aust Agder Blad)
Nordens folkhögskola Biskops-Arnö
(Sweden)
Glocal action – from Sweden to Africa
The Vestjylland folk high school (Denmark)
-The «Garden of Wonder»
- Sustainable solutions: Energy, food and buildings
- Learning from experts – and practicing
- Cooperation with the local civil society
«Ecological loops of learning»
In partnerships
«Our Common
Learning»
«Our Common
future»
The Balancing Act
www.thebalancinact.info
«Where to find more…..»
• BALLE – Business Alliance for Local Living Economy
• ICLEI – International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives. Local
Governments for Sustainability www.iclei.org
• The Transisition Towns Network
• The Slow-food movement
• YES!Magazine
• www.idebanken.no
• www.thebalancing.act.info
• ………………………………….
Thank you for your attention 